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Office
of the Provost
Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook Chapter 4 -- Faculty:
Benefits, Responsibilities, and Specific Requirements
Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Time
Reporting Procedures
Policy
Recently adopted federal and Regents policy address
Conflict of Interest and Time Commitments as they affect research
and other university activities.
Regents policy to address this issue was approved
April 20, 1995, and is now in effect. The National Science Foundation
(NSF) and the Public Health Service of the Department of Health
and Human Services (PHS-HHS) policies become effective October 1,
1995. These policies are printed in the Federal Register with the
most recent PHS-HHS and NSF policy changes published in FR, V.60,
July 11, 1995, pp. 35810-35819, 35820-35823.
The documents are available for review in the Office
of the Provost.
Forms will be distributed as a part of the annual
appointment process according to Regents policy (revised 9/22/95).
After the initial reporting, the annual report will be on reporting
forms approved by the Council of Presidents (revised 9/22/95).
State of Kansas Annual Statement of Significant Financial
Interest: The Kansas Statement of Significant Financial Interest
requires certain employees of FHSU to disclose their entire financial
interests based on their position with the University. The federal
and Regents conflict policy requirement addresses a similar set
of interests, but differs in that the policy only requires disclosure
of financial interests and time commitments if there is a direct
impact on one's research/educational activities or primary professional
responsibility. Also the conflict policy applies to all faculty
and unclassified employees.
Reporting
WHO: In compliance with federal, State of Kansas,
Kansas Board of Regents, and Fort Hays State University policies
and procedures, all faculty members and unclassified staff must
report and disclose any real or apparent conflict of financial interest
or conflict of time commitments related to the education, service,
research and scholarship missions of Fort Hays State University.
With regard to financial interests, individuals reporting
must include information about themselves, their spouse and dependent
children, and other members of the personal household.
Regents policy requires that "faculty and unclassified
staff members who hold fractional appointments and who have potential
or possible conflicts of time commitments or conflicts of interest,
as defined" in the Regents policy, "are also required
to make the disclosures." Department chairs, college deans,
or area supervisors will make a determination about applying the
policy to this group of faculty and unclassified staff (revised
9/22/95).
WHEN: Reporting must be completed on Form A and, if
necessary, Form B annually "as part of the annual appointment
process," and updated as circumstances change with regard to
conflict of interest, conflict of time commitment, or new activities.
NOTE: Any change in circumstance requires the submission of new
report forms (revised 9/22/95).
WHAT: Form A "Declaration for Conflict of Interest
and Conflict of Time Policy" asks that each individual assess
any real or any potential conflict of time or conflict of financial
interest as they relate to their own research and other university
interests. Conflict of financial interest also includes financial
interests of spouse and dependent children that might reasonably
appear to be affected by the research or educational activities
that are funded. If all questions on Form A are answered "No"
except for B.1, the investigator signs the form and submits it to
the college dean. If any questions on Form A are answered "Yes"
except for B.1, the investigator must complete Form B "Disclosure
Statement of Significant Financial and/or Time Commitment Interests"
(revised 9/22/95). The form is signed by the investigator and submitted
to the college dean.
NOTE: The State of Kansas requires the annual submission
of a "State of Kansas Annual Statement of Significant Financial
Interest" by certain employees based on their positions. The
Board of Regents policy and federal policy address similar issues,
but both the Regents and federal policy differ from State of Kansas
policy in two ways. (1) The policy outlined in this document requires
disclosure of financial interest and time commitment if there is
a real or a reasonably apparent direct impact on the one's research,
other university activities, or on private professional activities.
(2) The Regents policy applies to all faculty and unclassified
employees.
Definitions
Conflict of Interest: A potential Conflict of Interest
occurs when there is a divergence between an individual's private
interests and his or her professional obligations to the University
such that an independent observer might reasonably question whether
the individual's professional actions or decisions are determined
by personal gain, financial or otherwise. An actual conflict of
interest depends on the situation and not on the character or actions
of the individual.
Conflict of Time Commitment: A Conflict of Time Commitment
exists whenever a faculty member or staff member's external activities
exceed reasonable time limits or whenever a unclassified staff or
faculty member's primary professional responsibility is not to Fort
Hays State University.
Covered Individuals: The Regents policy covers all
full-time and part-time faculty and unclassified staff at Regents
universities. Federal conflict of interest procedures apply to any
individual at the institution who is responsible for the design,
conduct, or reporting of research. Conflict of interest covered
individuals include the individuals, their spouses, dependent children
and other household members.
Disclosure: Refer to "reporting" below.
Financial Interests: This means anything of monetary
value, including, but not limited to, salary or other payments for
services (e.g., consulting fees or honoraria); equity interests
(e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interests) and intellectual
property rights (e.g., patents, copyrights, and royalties from such
rights).
Reporting: This is the required reporting annually
or by ad hoc declaration of the relationship between individuals'
financial interests and their own research or educational activities
and their time commitments. If a potential for conflict of interest
or conflict of time commitment exists, the covered individual must
also file Form B "Disclosure Statement of Significant Financial
and/or Time Commitment Interest" identifying the specific financial
interests and the area of research/educational activity and time
commitments.
Responsibility: All covered individuals must report
annually through their deans or their unit supervisor the existence
of any potential or real conflict of interest between their financial
interests and their research/education activities. More frequent
reports may be requested or required by Fort Hays State University.
Additionally, if such interests and/or activities
change during the year, an updated report must be filed. Prior to
the submission of any external or internal grant applications, covered
individuals must certify on Form A Declaration for Conflict of Interest
and Conflict of Time policy that they are aware of the policy and
procedures and have complied. The declaration will be attached to
any internal or external grant before review of the grant application
can begin.
Failure to Comply
Failure to comply with reporting and disclosure requirements for
Conflict of Interest and Time Commitment will have one or more of
the following consequences: (1) Individuals will not be allowed
to submit internal and external grant applications (such as Graduate
School research grants, reassigned time, summer salary for research,
state, federal and other grants) until the compliance is rectified;
(2) Failure to comply will be considered grounds for disciplinary
action.
Procedures
1. Review of Disclosure
The general purpose of review is to assist faculty
members and the University in avoiding or controlling risks to integrity
and reputation, while at the same time protecting and furthering
the interests of faculty members and unclassified staff, Fort Hays
State University, the Kansas Board of Regents, the State of Kansas,
and federal agencies and society in the activities in question.
2. Initial Review Process
Faculty members and unclassified staff who are involved
in situations which represent the potential for real or apparent
conflicts of interest must disclose this information prior to participation
in the activities. This disclosure must be made to the dean of the
faculty member’s academic unit or to the unclassified staff’s
supervisor.
a. Individuals required to report must read and
understand all federal, State of Kansas, Board of Regents, and
Fort Hays State University policies regarding conflict of interest
and conflict of time commitment. (Please refer to Section VIII.
Definitions.) Copies of these policies are available from the
Office of the Provost.
b. Individuals must relate Conflict of Interest
policies/procedures to their financial interests, their research
and/or educational activities, and their time commitments to determine
whether a reasonable person might view their situation as presenting
real or potential conflict of time commitment.
The faculty member or unclassified staff member
will prepare a report on the proposed activity and attach completed
Form A "Declaration for Conflict of Interest and Conflict
of Time Policy" and, if necessary at this time, "Form
B Disclosure Statement of Significant Financial and/or Time Interest."
The report and the documents or documents will be transmitted
to the dean of the academic unit, with copies to the department
chair or academic unit supervisor. In certain instances when an
individual is not associated with an academic unit, the form is
sent to the appropriate unit supervisor.
The chair of the academic department or supervisor of the academic
unit will consult with the dean, who will either approve the proposed
activity and send a copy to the Provost (Office of Record) for
filing in the individual's personnel file or submit the Form B
Disclosure Form to the Provost for further review. The Provost
will either approve the proposed activity or submit the Form B
Disclosure Form for review by the Conflict of Interest Committee
as described below (in a later section). In those instances when
the dean does not approve the proposed activity, or where the
Provost does not approve the proposed activity, the activity may
not proceed until approval is obtained through the review procedure.
Review and decisions on proposed activities for this section must
be completed within twenty (20) working days after submission
of the Form B Disclosure Form to the dean of the faculty member's
college.
c. If there is a possible conflict, the individual
must disclose full information about specific research/educational
activities affected by his or her financial interests and/or time
commitments affecting the fulfillment of the University responsibilities
using the form provided. Such disclosures are reviewed by the
Conflict of Interest Committee which makes a recommendation to
the Provost about management of the conflict situation.
d. If an individual's assessment of his or her family
financial interests and its impact on educational/research activities
does not present a real or apparent conflict of interest,
and he or she has complied with time commitment approval procedures,
then the individual simply completes the Form A Declaration Form
and returns it to the college dean or to the department chair
for forwarding to the dean. Reports and disclosures will be held
in confidence and will be filed in the individual's personnel
file in the Office of the Provost.
3. University Conflict of Interest Committee
a. Conflict of Interest Committee Formation
In April of each spring semester, the Provost will
select the members for the Conflict of Interest Committee for
the following year and notify them of their selection. However,
for the first year, the Provost will appoint the Committee after
the policy and procedures are approved.
b. Conflict of Interest Committee Membership
The membership of the Committee will be drawn from
the full-time teaching faculty of the University. However, membership
shall not include the chair of any academic unit, or assistant
dean, or associate dean, or dean of any college or school. The
Committee will consist of seven (7) voting faculty members. One
voting member will be selected from lists of at least three nominees
submitted to the Provost by each of the four college deans (Arts
and Sciences, Business and Leadership, Education and Technology, Health & Life Sciences),
the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, and the President of Faculty Senate.
The Provost will select one at-large representative. The Provost
will appoint one person to call the organizational meeting each
year. The Committee will select its own chair and secretary. The
chair will be a voting member of the Committee. The Committee
members will serve for two years with staggered terms. (Three
of the seven initial members will be appointed for one-year terms.)
4. Review Guidelines
a. Conflict of Interest Committee Objectives:
The principal objective for the Committee and responsible
administrators is to help ensure that faculty and the University
avoid activities where the risk to integrity and reputation as
a result of an external activity outweighs the value of the activity
to academic and societal goals. Guidelines for appropriate activity
are described in the Kansas Board of Regents policy, Commitment
of Time, Conflict of Interest, Consulting and Other Employment,
as well as in relevant publications of the National Science Foundation,
the National Institute of Health, or other federal agencies as
appropriate.
b. Conflict of Interest Committee Review Process:
In the event that the Provost does not approve a
proposed activity, the Provost will notify the chair of the Conflict
of Interest Committee. The chair of the Committee will be responsible
for bringing together the Committee members to review the proposed
activity.
Upon receiving a request for review from the Provost,
the Conflict of Interest Committee will review information pertaining
to the questioned activity. In order to reach an informed judgment
and recommendation, the Committee may request additional information
from the faculty member, from the chair or the academic supervisor,
from the college dean, from the Provost, or from external sources.
Review and decisions on proposed activities for this section must
be completed within ten (10) working days after submission of
the Disclosure Form to the Committee. The Committee may extend
its deadline by ten (10) working days if important information
from external sources is required. The Committee will notify the
individual or individuals submitting the activity, the Chair of
the department, supervisor of the academic unit, the dean of the
college and the Provost of this extension.
The Committee will submit to the Provost a written
recommendation signed by all Committee members. Committee recommendations
might include but are not limited to the following: approval of
the activity as proposed if it is concluded that the potential
for conflict is remote or inconsequential; requirement of periodic
oversight by individuals independent of the employee; divestiture
of the financial interest; assignment of different faculty members
without a financial interest to control the activity; termination
of the activity; termination of a grant awarded before the conflict
became known.
In special circumstances the Conflict of Interest
Committee may approve the activity for a limited period of time
due to the potentially great benefit from the activity even though
there is a high potential for conflict of interest. The circumstances,
restrictions, and conditions of continuation will be carefully
and fully detailed in writing. Such restrictions and conditions
might include but are not limited to public disclosure of significant
financial interest, monitoring of research by independent reviewers,
or modification of the research plan or activity.
c. Conflict of Interest Committee Reporting:
The Conflict of Interest Committee will report its
recommendation in writing to the Provost. The Provost will consult
with the President in making the final recommendation. In reaching
this decision, the President and Provost will strongly consider
the Committee's recommendation. The Provost will communicate the
final recommendation to the faculty member or unclassified staff,
to the chair of the faculty member's department, to the supervisor
of the academic unit, to the dean, and to the University Conflict
of Interest Committee. These parties will initiate appropriate
steps to implement the final recommendation. The final decision
will be filed in the individual's personnel file in the Office
of the Provost. The files related to conflict of interest or conflict
of time commitment are described in Section VII below.
5. Certification Required for Grant Submission
a. Each individual submitting a grant application
internally and/or externally will have to sign the "Declaration"
form to certify that the individual understands the conflict of
interest and conflict of time policy and has complied with them.
The signed certification must accompany any grant, internal or
external, that is submitted for funding.
b. Before any grant can be reviewed by the Grants
Office or be submitted, the designated institutional representative
must sign an agency certificate form to certify that any identified
conflicts of interest will be managed, reduced, or eliminated
prior to the institution's expenditure of any funds under any
external grant award.
c. All reports related to any conflict of interest
or conflict of time commitment will be available to the responsible
person's in the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research,
which also includes the Grants Office. The files will be available
for certification/verification for compliance with rules and policies
of federal agencies.
Distribution and Dissemination
This policy will be included in the Faculty and Unclassified Staff
Handbook as a means of general distribution and dissemination. Faculty members or unclassified staff who begin
work other than at the beginning of the Fall semester will be advised
of the policy and procedures by the department chair or academic
unit supervisor during the first week of work.
Records Maintenance
All records related to the conflict of interest and
conflict of time commitment policy and procedures, including actions
taken to resolve the conflicts of interest or resolution of any
governmental action, will be maintained in the Office of the Provost.
The records must be maintained for at least three years after the
termination of the research or other activity in question.
Approved by Council of Presidents (10-19-95).
Note: Parts of the Policy were adopted from
The University Of Kansas Conflict Reporting Procedures.
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